Dreamer's Awakening
by MadBlossomingPrincess
Summary: Mana was having a dream of the perfect world, when she woke up. Now she has no memory of the people she cared about before, and all she has left is a dream... one she wants to get back to. But one person won't let her leave...


MBP: Um... this is rather... um... sad, so... yeah... I was having some emotional issues today at school, and this came up... Warning for depressing story here... Just letting everyone reading know...

Rini: She owns nothing...

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_**Dreamer's Awakening**_

I once dreamed of a perfect world, one where no one was ever hurt or in pain. I dreamed of a world where all people were considered equal, where everyone cared about each other and they all took care of each other. A world where people lived in harmony with everything else.

A dream... one I never wanted to wake up from... but one I was forced to leave... Jolted awake into a cold and cruel reality...

~~()~~()~~()~~()~~()~~

Mana opened her eyes, wondering where she was. The white walls weren't familiar, and neither were the bright lights that blazed in her eyes. Where were the people, the animals that often danced around her feet, the celebration? Where was she?

"Mana? Mana, are you awake?" An unfamiliar face peered into her eyes, white hair falling into the stranger's eyes. "She's awake!"

Mana sat up, watching a group of strangers enter the room. They crowded around her bed, concerned and worried as they watched her.

"Mana, are you alright?"

"What happened?"

"What's wrong Mana?"

Mana stared at the group, wondering exactly who they were. They all seemed to know who she was, even though she had no clue who they were. They seemed familiar, as if from a dream, but... nothing clicked.

"Who... are all of you?" Mana whispered, instantly silencing the group who stared in dismay...

~~()~~()~~()~~()~~()~~

Two weeks later, Mana hopped around the backyard, waiting for Amane to come visit. She wasn't really looking forward to it, but it was better talking to Amane than it was anyone else. They tried to tell her she needed to move on, try to live without the memories, to let it all go, but she couldn't. She needed those memories back... all she had was the dreams she'd had in her coma... and she couldn't have just that and live in this world...

"Mana? What are you thinking about?" Amane approached gently, not wanting to pressure her friend. She knew Mana wanted to remember, even though everyone else thought it was impossible. Amane wasn't going to back down from her friend however, and she'd do whatever she could to help Mana.

"Nothing..." Mana replied, sighing as she sat down. "Did I ever ride a horse? Ever? With a boy? Tan, tall, spiky hair?"

Amane stared and then smiled. "Um... you always said you did... when you went to Egypt..."

"So it's real!" Mana sat up, grinning happily. Things were beginning to click, even if the memories focused around the mysterious boy.

"So it would seem," Amane smiled at her friend, watching as Mana did a cheerful happy dance. Things were beginning to look up!

~~()~~()~~()~~()~~()~~

She hated it. She hated this world, with it's cruel, uncaring people. She was tired of trying to seem happy for the people who were still strangers, sick of fighting a hopeless battle for her memories, and giving up on ever finding the only person she began to remember.

Mana held the pills in her hands, wondering what would happen if she just took them all. Wondering if it was hard, trying to get them all down at once, or if it would be better to take some every few minutes. Wondering if anyone would really miss her.

She'd known the answers once. Before she went into the coma, she'd be able to answer quickly.

Mana took a glass of water, hiding the pills when she heard the front door open. Mahado shouldn't be home now...

A boy walked in the house hesitantly, peeking into the kitchen in time to see the assortment of pills in front of the girl. His eyes narrowed, showing worry and concern, but no pity.

"Mana... what are you doing?" Mana felt the rush of familiarity, and recognized him. No name came to mind.

"Who are you?" Mana spat out, putting the pills away except for the prescription she'd received. She didn't care who he was, he needed to leave.

The boy didn't respond, only walked over to her and glared. "Just what do you think you'll accomplish killing yourself?" He accused angrily, forcing eye contact. "Do you think it will do anything?"

Mana glared right back. "I wasn't going to kill myself!" She snapped back.

"I've known you for years Mana, you're a terrible liar," the boy instantly replied, boxing her in a corner. "What were you thinking?"

"It's none of your business," Mana growled, glaring at him, infuriated. Of course he'd know her well, but she couldn't remember anyone before the last three weeks.

The boy apparently realized her problem. "You may not remember," he said quietly, fury painting his words. "But we do, and we all care about you Mana. Never, ever doubt that."

"So, where were you all these weeks?" Mana accused. "Everyone else was here, at least talking to me, but you're the only one I've never seen."

"I... couldn't get away from Egypt..." The boy muttered regretfully. "I came as soon as I could."

The memory came suddenly, Mana unable to comprehend for a moment.

Egypt. It was hot there. Mahado stood next to her as they looked around from the airport, waiting for their escort. Mahado had looked surprised seeing that it was a woman approaching to take them to their hotel. Mana had grinned easily, seeing his interest in the unknown woman, and Mana had turned her attention to the boy from the archeological site. His hair was in spikes as he smiled at her and promised her a ride to the site one day...

"Atemu?" Mana breathed, hoping it was real, and not just a fake memory made from her desires. The boy nodded, and with a sad look in his eyes, smiled a smile she remembered like her own name.

~~()~~()~~()~~()~~()~~

Mana leaned against Atemu, tired. The memories were almost all back, enough that she could recognize her friends, joke, and laugh again. But it wasn't the same. She wasn't the same anymore.

"I want coffee!" Mana complained, having gotten addicted to the drink after countless sleepless nights. She constantly drank it, after a long night, when she woke up early, or when she was stressed. Big get-togethers did that a lot.

Atemu held the girl and smiled. She wasn't the same hyperactive, excitable girl she'd been before, though she showed signs. She was more worried about people feeling sorry for her than she should be, so she tried to tone everything down, but other than that... He saw her shining through.

He saw enough to know that she didn't need coffee all the time, thought she'd protest, loudly, if you ever suggested that.

"Hey Mana, come play!" Amane took the girl's hands eagerly. "Come on, it's lap tag!" (A/N: A Forbidden Theatre Game at my school that's just sooo much fun... XD)

"Uh..." Mana looked to Atemu for encouragement and he nodded. Mana smiled and let Amane drag her off, listening to a review of the rules.

She had a long way to go... but she was making it... and she wasn't alone...

Mana looked at Atemu over her shoulder. She still thought her dreams from the coma were better sometimes... but he gave her hope... and she couldn't imagine going on without him...

()**()**()**()**()**()

Rules of Lap Tag: You sit in pairs, one in front and one in back. One person sits alone. The person sitting alone calls out the names of two people in the front. The people in front race to get touch the knee of the person alone, while the people in back try to stop the front people from getting there. If the person who called them calls SWITCH they switch objectives, and it goes until someone hits the lap. When that happens, the person who hit the lap sits in the back of the person who called them, and their old partner calls the next names. It goes on until you decide to stop the game and go do something else.

Hint: Make sure you play in a nice open space... if not, it gets very dangerous very quickly... and it's kinda dangerous to begin with! (But it's fun, and what's danger to a bunch of crazy high school theatre kids? XD) OH, and enjoy the game!

()**()**()**()**()**()

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MBP: And it's done... hope you liked it...

Rini: Um... okay... play lap tag sometime and tell MBP how the game was! She really likes it!

Kio: Um... Jaa nee...


End file.
